This invention relates generally to imaging systems and more particularly to systems and methods for developing a secondary collimator.
The events of Sep. 11, 2001 instigated an urgency for more effective and stringent screening of airport baggage. The urgency for security expanded from an inspection of carry-on bags for knives and guns to a complete inspection of checked bags for a range of hazards with particular emphasis upon concealed explosives. X-ray imaging is a widespread technology currently employed for screening. However, existing x-ray baggage scanners, including computed tomography (CT) systems, designed for detection of explosive and illegal substances are unable to discriminate between harmless materials in certain ranges of density and threat materials like plastic explosive.
A plurality of identification systems based on a plurality of x-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques provide an improved discrimination of materials compared to that provided by the x-ray baggage scanners. The XRD identification systems measure a plurality of d-spacings between a plurality of lattice planes of micro-crystals in materials. However, a signal-to-noise ratio provided by the XRD identification systems is difficult to improve.